IndiGo plane catches fire in Kathmandu, 182 on board safe

An IndiGo airlines aircraft from New Delhi caught fire after landing at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) Saturday afternoon but all 182 people on board were evacuated safely.

According to the airline, IndiGo flight 6E031 from Delhi to Kathmandu with 175 passengers, one infant and six crew members made a normal landing at Kathmandu airport.

"After parking, the ground engineer observed smoke and fire from the right brake assembly and advised evacuation of all passengers and crew. One hundred and seventy-one passengers were evacuated by the slide-chute, by which time the fire was brought under control. The remaining passengers and crew left the aircraft by the forward step ladder," the airline said in a statement released in New Delhi.

"All passengers were evacuated by the IndiGo crew in 81 seconds. All 175 passengers, one infant and six crew members are safe."

The airline said that it was in touch with the Indian civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to seek permission for sending another aircraft to bring back the passengers booked on the Kathmandu-Delhi flight.

According to a Xinhua report, the aircraft, an Airbus A-320, caught fire immediately after landing at the airport.

TIA general manager Rishikesh Sharma told the media that the fire was immediately controlled.